The themes and issues in Arthur Millers Essay Example for Free

The themes and issues in Arthur Millers Essay Whenever playing the part of Proctor you would have to get across to the audience that he is obviously outspoken and blunt in his view of witchcraft, but he chooses to downplay the significance of Abigails accusations. He has a tendency to remain apart from the rest of Salem, which is shown through his decision not to attend church, his rows with Parris and his facing up to the officials of the court. When acting therefore, a strong independence of character has to be shown. His tendency to remain apart from the group could be shown by the actor placing himself far away from the rest of the characters on the stage, except for Elizabeth who he truly loves and wants to please. There are individuals nowadays who, just like John, also remain far apart from todays society. These people are looked upon as being strange and odd as they question original ideas and produce their own. For example, people who think that abortions are wrong as seen as strange and peculiar. Some think it is wrong for people to have opinions for themselves and that they should stick to the rules but I think it is people like John, who stand out and get listened to, that keep our communities strong. Another side of Proctor, which would be difficult to portray on stage, is one of his greatest strengths: his manliness. I would consider this as being a challenge because although it is one of his strengths, it is also one of his weaknesses as it leads him to his affair with Abigail. The guilt he feels over this act of betrayal prevents him from speaking out soon enough and contributes to his eventual imprisonment and death. Hence, he dies a death engendered by his own strength, which gains in significance due to the weakness of others. Guilt is an emotion which most of us feel today and often affects decisions we have to make, just like the conflicts, which Proctor had to overcome. We can tell Proctor is a good man as he does what his conscience told him to do tear up the confession, which leads to his death. We also see Elizabeths actions when guilt overcomes her too. In act three she lies because she feels partly responsible for Johns looking elsewhere for love. Elizabeth is a woman who never lies but she is prepared to lie to defend Proctor because her love for him and her guilt over not treating him as well as she could. This is a good comparison on how guilt can make you react in different situations. When acting the part of Elizabeth a difference of attitude would have to be shown between act two and three. Is act two she is very suspicious of Proctor and it is obvious that she doesnt trust him which could be shown in her finding it hard to make eye contact with him and not being very affectionate towards him. In act three she feels so sorry about the way she had acted before and it is clear that she loves her husband very much.